Holistic Addiction Therapy Methods

Holistic addiction therapy has become more and more popular in recent decades. Holistic methods have always been used to treat addiction, but most often in ethnic or cultural circles that aren’t always associated with western medicine.

Fortunately, recent research has caught up with ancient methods and has begun proving that many holistic methods, used to treat addiction for centuries, have some basis in biological science as well.

Why choose holistic methods?

These traditional methods tend to be more holistic in nature than a lot of western approaches, which tend to be more of a band-aid fix – they don’t heal the problem, they tend to just cover it up for a while.

Holistic methods – those that are effective – are better for addressing problems for quite a few reasons..

Holistic treatments tend to address the problem at its root and actually eliminate it instead of just covering up the symptoms so the problem continues to wreak havoc underneath the medical band-aid

Holistic treatments usually don’t distinguish between mind and body the same way that western medicine does. These treatments recognize that a healthy mind cannot truly exist without a healthy body, and thus they aim to treat both mind and body to provide a more comprehensive kind of treatment.

What kind of holistic methods are good for addiction?

There are quite a few holistic treatment methods that can be viable for treating addiction. These are some of the most popular and effective methods for treating addiction from a holistic point.

Somato Emotional Repatterning

Somato Emotional Repatterning, or somatoemotional release, is a therapy method that helps people rid the residual association and energy of traumatic or negative experiences. These experiences can leave emotional scars that can manifest in shame, anxiety, insecurity, and all of these things can lead to addiction if they are not treated properly.

Somato Emotional Repatterning is very effective at helping to remove or repattern these emotional charges into something more productive.

This method aims to eliminate this negative energy (which can sometimes be triggered by external situations and can cause a person to engage in destructive coping behaviors) through a holistic mind-body approach that allows patients to identify, access, and release emotions related to past traumas. Read more about Somato Emotional Repatterning here.

Auriculotherapy

Auriculotherapy is a form of therapy that is similar to acupuncture, but is focused on the ear (the auricle) and can be done without the traditional methods requiring the actual puncturing of skin with a needle.

The target areas in the ear that are used in this form of auriculotherapy relate to certain neural pathways. The correct stimulation of these pathways in the proper order can help to eliminate mental imbalances that may have led to addiction in the first place. Read more about auriculotherapy here.

Neobiofeedback

Neo-biofeedback, also known as cranio-electro stimulation, is beginning to develop popularity as a method for addressing many different mental disorders – and among these, addiction.

The process works by using special devices like the David ALERT Pro to stimulate each hemisphere of the brain to produce a different frequency. These frequencies can be evaluated on a Symptom Survey, which is then evaluated.

Manipulating the frequencies of the different hemispheres of your brain can help to eliminate mental disorders like addiction, or help to quell the negative feelings that lead to addiction.

Supplements and nutrition

Many people are aware that proper nutrition and diet can help to offset the damage done to the body by drugs. What many people don’t know is that a proper diet can help prevent people from developing process addictions and chemical addictions, and can help them with their recovery.

Most users of drugs are self-medicating for some problem that has not been diagnosed. People suffering from process addictions (such as gambling or sex addictions) are usually trying to cope with something. Mental and physical problems are usually caused by some sort of chemical imbalance. Most of these mental or physical imbalances can be corrected with a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition.

Identifying the problems that led you to addiction can be absolutely vital in helping you follow a path to recovery. Once you know the problem that you are using your addiction to cope with, we can help you create a diet that will work to fix it.

If you or someone you love is struggling with an addiction, please don’t wait. Help is available! Call my office now at (805) 644-0461. Let’s begin working together to break the cycle!